Effect of Amniotic Membrane Dressing on Pain and Healing of Palatal Donor Site: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Free gingival graft is the most commonly practiced predictable technique for gingival augmentation. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of human amniotic membrane, a biological dressing, on wound healing and post-operative pain after its application on the palatal donor site after free gingival graft surgery. METHODS: Of 27 eligible patients, 15 were randomized into a test group and received human amniotic membrane dressing sutured over their palatal donor site; 12 were randomized into a control group in whom the palatal donor site was only sutured. Standard clinical photographs were taken at 7, 14, and 21 days post-operatively and evaluated by 3 periodontists. The pain score at the donor site was assessed by a visual analog score; the number of analgesics taken was also recorded. RESULTS: The mean color match scores were higher in the test group than the control group at 14 (p<0.01) and 21 days after surgery (p=0.02). The difference in tissue texture (p=0.01) and inflammation (p=0.02) between the two groups was only significant on day 14 (p<0.05). The pattern of pain relief was better in the test group compared with the control group, especially in first days, although the differences were not significant in terms of the number of analgesics taken or the pain score. CONCLUSION: Application of human amniotic membrane can accelerate wound healing and may decrease post-operative pain and discomfort by a limited amount.

Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor is a survival and proliferation factor for castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Androgen receptor (AR)-mediated gene expression continues to have a critical role in promoting castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) survival and growth even after androgen deprivation therapy. AR cistrome analyses in CRPC cells have identified a large number of AR target genes involved in proliferative and cell cycle-related functions, and hold promise for development of novel therapeutic approaches for CRPC. However, there is little understanding of how these genes function in vivo and what the clinical implications are. We previously reported that secretory leukocyte peptidase inhibitor (SLPI) is regulated by the AR in a ligand-independent manner in CRPC cells and required for CRPC cell proliferation under androgen-deprived conditions. SLPI is a secreted serine protease inhibitor, which is overexpressed in a number of cancers, including lung, breast and ovarian cancer, and involved in tumor progression. However, the oncogenic potential of SLPI in prostate cancer remains unknown. Here we provide the first evidence that SLPI is upregulated in a subset of CRPC cell lines and CRPC patient tumors. In addition, serum SLPI levels are significantly elevated in metastatic CRPC patients compared with hormone naive patients, raising the possibility that this could serve as a biomarker. We demonstrated that SLPI expression has functional significance, as it promotes CRPC cell survival and growth after androgen withdrawal in vivo and in vitro. Last, we demonstrated that the oncogenic effect of SLPI may be due to protection of growth factor progranulin from enzymatic cleavage or suppression of CRPC cell apoptosis independent of anti-protease activity of SLPI. These findings implicate SLPI as a potential biomarker of resistance to AR inhibition and therapeutic target for CRPC treatment.

Stabilizing effects of calcium alginate microspheres on Mycobacterium bovis BCG intended for oral vaccination.

In this study, alginate microspheres containing BCG were prepared at a diameter of approximately 10 microm by emulsification-internal gelation of an alginate-BCG solution dispersed in olive oil using a high rate speed stirrer. The stability of BCG was assayed at 4 degrees C showing that the encapsulated BCG was more stable than free BCG at least for 5 weeks; however, BCG in sodium alginate solution was not stable at all. On the other hand, the studies using media with different pH (1.2, 4.4, 6.2, 6.8 and 7.5) have demonstrated that the alginate microspheres are stable in acidic medium for upto 1.5 h without any sign of disintegration. Moreover, BCG incorporated in alginate microspheres demonstrated an almost 9-fold increase in viable bacilli in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) after 1.5 h in comparison with free BCG.

Association of T cells with proliferating cells in lymphoid follicles.

Frozen sections of lymph nodes from normal mice were examined by immunofluorescence with anti-T lymphocyte and anti-Ig reagents and by autoradiography following [3H]TdR administration. The scattered T lymphocytes present among B lymphocytes of primary follicles were found to be mostly nonproliferating; the few proliferating cells in primary follicles are therefore predominantly B lymphocytes. More than one-half (56%) of these proliferating B lymphocytes were found to be in direct contact with a T lymphocyte; this incidence is 5-fold higher than that expected by random association. In germinal centers, virtually all proliferating cells were found to be non-T lymphocytes as well. The association of proliferating B cells with T cells may be the result of specific cooperation between these two cell types. These data are discussed in the context of what is known of T/B collaboration and of primary follicles as a possible site of this interaction.